Confession Thursday: Coupons

Thursday's have now been dubbed Confession Thursday but I am sure you realized that :D. I have to tell you I haven't used coupons in quite some time and have felt a lot of guilt because of it. I subscribe to many coupon blogs, websites, and clipping services and read how these ladies are spending $15 for $150 worth of food. It does happen and I have learned all the tools to make it happen for my own family and I really thought I was failing until I started to put two and two together and realized a couple things. 1) I really don't enjoy coupons all that much except for the products we actually use which isn't much since I cook a lot from scratch. 2) I will never be a saving tons off my grocery bill because I don't have a store that doubles coupons over .40 cents. The ladies I have read about have stores that double coupons up to a dollar and some even triple! I am ok with never being a super saver because you know what I am doing my best for my family. If I am only able to save $10 off my grocery bill at one trip to Super Walmart IT IS OK! I need to repeat this IT IS OK! I have a tendency to do way to much then feel guilty when I don't accomplish much. We are working on that this year(we as in Eric is helping me). I love when my husband is proud of even the little bit of savings like $10 off our Walmart visit it gives me the warm and fuzzy feelings. He is also helpful in letting me know that he would rather I spend my few hours I have while the kids are in school doing something I enjoy like soap making or card making rather than focusing on going to several different grocery stores to spend a little less. I married an angel I tell ya but that is a different post. So if he is ok with it I should be as well but again I am the queen of I can do it all syndrome but God isn't finished with me quite yet praise the Lord!

Me and my mind...

I love the days when I send Grace off to Kindergarten and Jonah, Micah, and Kerith off to Mother's day out. I have 5 hours of time just with myself, well not really Titus is here too but he doesn't say much. This week I have been so grateful for the time I've had since I am fighting this cold sore throat thing. On my drive home from dropping off the kids this morning I had all these great thoughts on what to write about but some where between turning onto our street and pulling in our driveway I lost all my thoughts. I hope on the drive to pick the kids up my thoughts will return to me. I have this issue with grocery lists as well. I can make a list in my mind at 2 am but as soon as I have pen and paper in my hand everything is out of the brain. So because I am apparently brain dead this afternoon I am going to take a nap and hope something comes back to me.

Snow

I love snow. This morning we woke up to a blanket of white and I took Jonah, Micah and Kerith out to play. Our play time did not last long as the wind started to whip up making the wind chills in the single digits and the kids got cold. We came in and enjoyed some hot cocoa.

Titus eight weeks!

Fun Photos

I'm sick today so my blogging will be posting some of my favorite photos of our Christmas trip to Texas.

The Sisters. Mine of course ;)

 A rare smile caught on camera.

 Can you tell Jonah loves his Paw-Paw?

The Thanksgiving Miracle

I know God does things for certain reasons and when Jake went missing I wasn't sure what his reason might be. My pets are one step down from being a child in my house and Jake is one of my best buddies. So the day he went missing I was in a panic and sad the weeks that followed. I asked people to pray and many replied to have hope that he just may turn up on your doorstep one day. I scoffed in my mind at those comments I mean seriously Jake would just come home without any help? In my mind I was saying "Yeah right!". In Church the sermon series was on prayer and one of the sermons they brought up the acronym PUSH(Pray Until Something Happens) so Eric, I and the kids prayed before bed that Jake would come home.  The week he went missing the weather was very Spring like and we actually had bad storms and tornadoes and all I could think about was that Jake was out there a lone. We put up flyers, asked neighbors, talked to local vets and checked the pet shelters and nothing. No calls, no information, nothing. I was positive Jake would never be found and my heart was broken.

A week after Titus was born it was an overcast damp day. I had just come back inside from getting the mail when a few minutes later I heard scratching at the door. My first thought was that Bo or Taylor had followed me out and I hadn't noticed. I glanced out the window and there he was, it was Jake! He was skinny but clean and SO happy to see everyone. I was in disbelief and I cried. There is now a joke that surrounds my reaction to Jake coming home. I never cry at the important events in my life such as my on my wedding day or the birth of my children but I cried the day Jake came home. I am not sure why. I think it has a lot to do with what God was doing in my spiritual life in showing me how much unbelief I had hidden in my heart. Much like my experience after I  miscarried. I had so much doubt in my grief. So much mistrust. I knew God could bring Jake back if he chose to but I didn't know if he would. Just like after I lost my baby I knew God could help me conceive and have a child again but didn't know if he would. I look back and can see how God used these events in my life. Both were painful but both have brought me closer in my walk with Christ.

 And by the way I am not saying a lost dog is as big of a deal as losing a baby. For me though these two events have brought me closer to Christ in similar ways and I hope that message is conveyed.

Throughout the day I kept thinking this must be a little of what Christ feels when one of his children makes his way back to him after straying. I have a better understanding of the prodigal Son now. It always amazes me how God uses events in my life to make me understand him and his word better. Sometimes I have a hard head and it takes heartache to show me exactly what I am to learn. I praise God for the heartache for out it I am much more richer and closer to my Savior.

the flat tire

So already the 21 days to make blogging a habit is proving challenging. I guess it is not surprising with all that goes on in my life day after day. Yesterday was a unique day in that Grace was in school, Jonah, Micah, and Kerith were in mother's day out and Eric had a flat tire. So after Titus and I got done with a little shopping excursion to Target, Eric called and said there was a two hour wait for the car to get fixed and his boss let him have the day off so I chose to spend a few hours with him with only one kid. It was a unique day and one that doesn't happen to often. We have to seize these moments! We decided to go home have lunch and watch a movie before getting in the van again and making the 1 hour and 30 minute trip to pick up all the kids from school. I wish I was exaggerating but not so it really takes that amount of time just ask my Mom she found out a few weeks ago when she was here to help me recover from surgery. It is one of the downfalls about living in a more rural area but one we wouldn't trade.

I am pretty sure God constructs the day with unexpected days off and a few hours of peacefulness so Eric and I stay sane with each other and actually get to talk without shouting at each other over the noise level. Visit us between the hours of 4-6 pm if your are curious on how loud it is ;). The groupies are getting restless so I better wrap this one up. I hope I can find some moments in today to seize. It's a little easier to find moments when all chaos isn't breaking loose.